By the way, I'm thinking that Oppy's getting ready to head back to Duck Bay, which looks like the best entry path, plus nice vertical cliffs to examine on the way in . . .

I don't know about that. I think from what Squyres has said, they're more likely to enter the crater in the next three or four bays.

I'm thinking that this last drive, up and away from the rim, is a set-up for a short sprint straight east into the dark streaks. Oppy can then work south towards the rim through the major dark streak, characterizing the soils outside the streak, inside the streak, and along the boundaries.

-the other Doug

--------------------

“The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right.” -Mark Twain

They're going a funny way about it....and why would you pick an entry point after seing less than 1/4 of the rim, especially when we've been told they plan to cover something like 120 degrees of crater rim.

Maybe they're heading for that crater on the annulus with the pale east rim, then on to the first dark streak? Clealry, they are mssing out Cabo Corrientes. From the area where the first streak meets the rim of Victoria, they'd get a good view of the boulder field inside the crater, the biggest and best collection of tumbled-down rock anywhere inside Victoria. They come from the beds of the layered cape above it (Cape D 1). My guess is they'd like to use those boulders to sample different layers of the strata in the crater wall.

I'm thinking that this last drive, up and away from the rim, is a set-up for a short sprint straight east into the dark streaks.

QUOTE (kenny @ Feb 8 2007, 10:16 AM)

Clealry, they are mssing out Cabo Corrientes.

Mmm, I would guess they are still planning to drive onto Cabo Corrientes.Here is the rationale: The "post-drive" mosaics taken on sol 1080 were headed at 144º, meaning that the rover driver's primary interest for the next move is centered on that heading. In other words, it might be possible that the next move is on heading 144º i.e. towards Cabo Corrientes.Now, the next move is already planned; it's on sol 1082 (today). Among the planned imaging sequences is, again, the "post-drive" navcam mosaic this time centered at 162º. Based on the previous assumption that today's move will be headed at 144º and (another assumption) the post-drive navcam mosaic is centered on the cape tip, I did the following picture with Opportunity's possible (?) location after today's move.My two cents.

Tesheiner, I'm sure you're right about the clues given by the imaging instructions. But I can't understand why they went so far away from the rim to the 1080 position, only to turn around and double back in again, when there's nothing that requires such a big avoidance maneuver. The route from 1078 to 1080 is at an azimuth of about 50 degrees, whereas something about 80 degrees would have taken Oppy much more quickly and efficiently towards Cabo Corrientes.... unless they've gone out there to look at something.K

But I can't understand why they went so far away from the rim to the 1080 position

Because they had better drive-direction visibilty that way and could be sure of zero hazards over a longer drive that way? Because they wanted to get some navcam terrain model wedges to augment the ones they will get closer to the rim and build a better model of this area? Because they wanted to test some long distance autonomous driving far from the rim? Loads of reasons why they'd do it. How close to the edge of a jagged cliff do you walk.....blind fold

If you look at the point reached on sol 1066, you can see that it is also further than apparently necessary away from the crater. They are likely searching for a vector to the cape tip that minimizes the chance of falling off an edge. It may be because they are testing auto-navigation and want to give the computer a margin of safety.

Whether the rover goes 20, 30 or 40m on a drive, it can still easily complete it in the time required by the plan so it probably doesn't matter a whole lot (unless you are counting wheel revs) how far they drive..

Imaging info from yestersol move (1082) already made their way to the PCDT web, but the exploratorium have no new pics yet. A minor hiccup I would say.Assuming the mobility data is accurate (and it usually is), this is Opportunity's new position:

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